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... More Stories to Read
Library is more than books and borrowing
Even the local librarians refer to our family's book collection as a "branch library," so why would we think the library is so important? Why would the staff notice if a week went by that we weren't there? Perhaps it is because we all recognize that the library is more than books and borrowing... Read More
Libraries saved my life
I've been a writer all of my life, and to me the library has always been a safe refuge. Books have comforted me during the awkward stages of growing up an only child... Read More
Somehow I knew the library had the answer
I pulled open the door to the Sequoya Branch library and realized I had found a place that would make Madison feel like home... Read More
What hasn't the library done for me?
A better question is what hasn't the library done for me. When I was young and lived on the lower east side, i would spend almost all saturday reading about ghosts and other things that went bump in the night... Read More
Quotables
This group of quotes are from children who use the Kilbourn Public Library and Bookmobile in Wisconsin Dells. (05/10)
- I got a dinosaur book. It told me about dinosaurs. It told me what they eat. It told me some names. --Ryan German
- I like the bookmobile because they let you get two books or one if you want to. They have a lot of books in the bookmobile. I like the bookmobile. I like all the books. I like going to the bookmobile with my aunt. --Kaelynn Schwantz
- love the bookmobile because I love the pictures. I love the words. But most of all I love the books. In fact, they are very interesting. --Ben Mayer
- I like the bookmobile because I get books. Sometimes I get chapter books. I get non-fiction books. Right now I have Fairy Realm. I like all the books. --Cadence Dust
- The bookmobile has friendly people, and it comes out in the summer. They come on Wednesdays. I like it because it takes you on a trip even though you're still at school. --Anna Brown
- The bookmobile turns my frown upside-down, When I am sad, I read a book. Mrs. Holly is a very friendly person. She always says hello and good bye. She used to teach in this school. The bookmobile is here in the summer, so when you're bored you can go to a shady area, sit down and read a good book. The bookmobile is a magical place of a book world. --Ebany Palacios
- The Bookmobile is like a magical place full of books and movies. And it comes every Wednesday and the books are free!! It comes by the Headstart over where I live. I like to read. --Adam Brown
- I enjoy the bookmobile because I love the books. The ladies are really nice. My favorite books are "Twilite" and "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory." I love the bookmobile. --Abbigal Campbell
- I love the bookmobile because it helps kids get better at reading. Even if you're not a kid and never learned how to read. Or if you do know how to read you can read just for fun like me. I am very, very happy because Mrs. Holly used to teach at our school and she still comes to our school. The bookmobile comes to our school in the summer on Wednesday. Thank you for the bookmobile. -- Emily Kay Davenport
- I use the bookmobile because usually at the library at school we have to check out A.R. books. At the bookmobile I don't have to check out A.R. books. I also like using it because it comes to our school, and at home we're really busy so usually I can't go to the Kilbourn Library. It is a library on wheels. --Allison Anne Fladhammer
- When I was at home sleeping I was dreaming that I had no books. I got some books at the bookmobile on Friday and it made me so happy! -- Jalen Avila
- One time I was going to get on the bookmobile! The only thing is I had a little problem. I was one of the last ones to get on. It was good I got my books. But then my second problem came! I went to the lady that was checking my books out on the computer, or at least she was trying to. For some reason she couldn't find my name on the computer! I was in trouble! I guess she thought that was under my library card, but I didn't have a card. It was really my mom's card by my name. She kept trying to find it, while I was trying to explain it. Then I started getting a little scared. Finally, she understood what I was trying to tell her. Then I got off with my books and haven't had a problem like that since. --Pablito Schultz, Jr.
My mom made the Library a big part of my early childhood. We used it for fun, education, and a retreat from the heat during the summer. When I was in 1st grade and I had just started learning to read, I would walk to the Baraboo Library. I would sit in the children's section and choose books from the well-labeled early reader collection. I would sit and sound out the words from the book and slowly I taught myself to love reading. There were several times where my mother would call the children's section of the library and the librarian would have to send me home for dinner. Ever since, the library has been my home away from home. Every time my husband and I have considered moving to a new town, my husband goes to the job interview, and I check out the library. Our local library is now playing a big role in my daughters' childhood, and it continues to shape my family.
-- Natalie Fullmer, Reedsburg Public Library (05/10)
Kindergarten through third grade I needed to go to extra reading classes for help because I was a struggling reader. I didn't like going to these classes because I had to leave my regular class and it was usually during something fun that I didn't want to miss. My mom made me sign up for the Summer Reading Program and brought me to the library a lot during the Summer. My mom had to approve the book I was reading to make sure it was challenging enough. She also made me read to her once in awhile to make sure I was reading the words correctly. I completed the Reading Program. I read all 20 books to fill out the form and to collect my prizes. When I returned to school for 4th grade I didn't need extra help with reading. I tested at grade level. I did the Summer Reading Program again and completed all 20 books to collect my prizes. When I returned to 5th grade I tested above grade level in reading. I am now in the advanced reading group in my class and enjoy reading
-- Rachel Krohn, Madison Sequoya Branch (05/10)
My family moved to Monroe in 2000. Since then, I have gone to the library hundreds of times, have been a VolunTeen at the summer programs ever since I was old enough, and participated in the Puppet Players program since I was 11. The library is my favorite place in the entire world.
I meet with friends, play games, read books, do homework, listen to music, check my email, and scour the comics section for new arrivals. Why? The library is my favorite place in the entire world.
I'm a member of the Teen Advisory Board, go to Teen Tech Link, and to the Book Talks. Why? I could just head home and play X-box or something, but the library is my favorite place in the entire world.
I hope to get my first job at the the library, shelving books. Why? I probably could get a higher-paying job elsewhere, but the library is my favorite place in the entire world.
Why is the library my favorite place in the world? Because nowhere else can I have all of the things that I've mentioned in the same place, with such a peaceful atmosphere. This makes the library my favorite place in the entire world.
So, how has the library changed my life? I can't really say it has. The library has been a great influence on my life, but it was at a point in my life where there wasn't really much to change. Instead of changing my life, the library made it. This makes the library my favorite place in the entire world.
--Ben Page, Monroe Public Library (05/10)
Over 30 years ago, I played the violin for 2 years. One day in the summer of 2009, the library hosted a "Try Violin, Viola, Cello" afternoon. I thought I'd just try the violin. After playing the first note, I knew I had to take it up again. Almost a year later, I am still enjoying playing the violin and plan to continue playing for the foreseeable future. Thank You to the library for leading me back to the violin!
--Andrew Carter, Portage County Public Library (05/10)
I love books! I don't want them to end but I read them so fast! I have no clue what I would do without my library. Especially for reports, essays, school work, anything! My library made me love books. It has any type of book imaginable! Like mystery, nonfiction, fiction, fairy tales, even comics from the newspaper put into a book! Amazing, I know! This note is to my favorite library around! You might not be big or popular, but you're a friend, a good one at that, too!
--Clara Sickels (10), Poynette Public Library (05/10)
About 3 years ago I was always in trouble, I had a really bad attitude toward everyone and everything, I wasn't really that interested in school, and I was really self-conscious. Then one day I was bored. I'd had this book for a couple of months, so I started to read it and I was really captured by the text. I didn't read around anyone else though because I was worried about how they would reply. I didn't want to ask my mom to buy me a book, so I went to a library near my house. It was like I stepped into a whole new world. There were books everywhere on all different subjects. I roamed the aisle for what felt like hours. After that I would go to the library everyday after school and stay for hours, and just read and browse the books. I learned books were a good outlet for my frustration because I could go to a whole new world and forget my problems. I focused more in school because I learned textbooks were just like fiction books, and there was so much that you could learn. I stopped getting in so much trouble because I wanted to spend all my free time in the library. I wasn't really worried about what people were saying because now I was getting called smart and people were asking me questions about homework and were asking me for advice about books I would recommend for them. I love the library so much because I feel like I can go to my own world where ever I want that to be, and I'm so happy I found a way to vent my frustration without causing harm to my self and others. Without the library, who knows what I would've grown up to do. This is how libraries changed my life.
--Carletta Campbell, Madison Public Library (05/10)
I'm almost embarrassed about how often I go to the library. Two or three times a week (possibly more during the hot summer months -- I'll admit that the air conditioning doesn't hurt!) I gather up finished or rejected books from around my house and hike up Tokay Boulevard to Sequoya's double doors. From the shelves I pluck the newest fiction novels, recycled issues of Bon Appetit, knitting instructions, and books on tape to shorten lengthy road trips. After having lived in a city without a library, I treasure the abundant resources Madison's libraries offer citizens.
--Margaret Franchino, Madison Sequoya Branch (05/10)
The library is a huge part of our family's life. This past winter it saved our sanity more than once. We have a very active toddler, and getting out in the winter is always a challenge, but the wonderful play area at the library saved many a cold winter day for us. She would be happy to go there daily. I would pick up my holds for quiet naptime reading, my older daughter would find books and DVDs, and our toddler would burn off extra energy. The Sequoya play area is particularly nice (the kitchen is her favorite, but she also loves all the puzzles), but we've also gone to other libraries and she has a great time at all of them (the puppets at the South Madison Branch are also a favorite).
--Nola Risse-Connolly, Madison Sequoya Branch (05/10)
The library is my "safe place" It's where I go when the world is just too much to deal with. It started in high school when I just wanted to get away from my dysfunctional family. Reading was considered a good activity and I could use the car to get books. I invented more research projects just so I could go to the place where no one bothered me. I could just be. Later, a bad marriage sent me looking for a "safe place" just to escape from reality. I could read books, magazines, rent artwork, listen to music or meditate. How safe it felt. Much better than a bar. It was also where my children learned of the wonders of our library. From the librarian that protected my son from the bullies to the others who suggested books for my children as their skills improved. Now the library is where I do volunteer work. Hopefully I help create a "safe place" for others. I know that it is there for my community as I watch all ages fill the space. Now it is computers and Skype and DVD's. I still see a chair for the teenager, preschooler and senior citizen. Not a bad place to be. Safe.
-- Sharon Kopenski, Oregon Public Library (05/10)
Libraries for me mean access. Access to the community, literacy, education, health, leisure, information, the outside world, and a better life. Without the library I would definitely have a duller, smaller, less fulfilling life. I did not have a lot as child, but I had books and I had a love of reading, so in many ways I had everything. I thank my mom for bringing me to the library when I was very young. My fondest memories are of going to our small town library in Western Wisconsin to get children's books to read at the library and at home. My favorites were, and still are today, Dr. Seuss books, especially "Green Eggs and Ham." After getting our books we often would go get ice cream at the ice cream shop that was across from the library. Libraries and books have played a huge role in my life. Today, my local library is the Hawthorne Branch on Madison's East Side. I love this small, busy, close-knit library. It is always full with local patrons of all ages from all walks of life. This vibrant, active, resourceful "hub" has provided me and so many others a safe and welcoming place to grow, learn, recreate, and improve our lives. I also use many other libraries in the South Central System and LINKCat, but I always come back "home" to Hawthorne.
-- Amanda Barilani, Madison Hawthorne Branch (05/10)
After moving to Stevens Point I let my Wauwatosa friends know about many of the special things in my newly chosen area. What I never expected to tell them was that the library came with my own personal librarian. I checked out books quite regularly and would reserve one occasionally. When I stopped at the desk to pick up a reserved book one day, I found that there were two books in my name. I hadn't requested the other book but I checked it out, read and enjoyed it. When this happened a second time, I commented to the librarian on duty that I was getting reserved books I hadn't reserved. She said she had reserved them FOR me. She'd noticed that I often checked out books that she enjoyed and figured I might enjoy books that she had just read. My own personal librarian! It lead to many interesting conversations on the books we had both read. I would say that the wide range of services of the library has kept me connected with materials for my own entertainment and with other people. Over the years I have checked out books, tapes, movies, and art from the Portage County Public Library. I have attended meetings, book discussions, book sales, picked up tax forms, and met with a literacy student at the library. I have reserved books and have been informed by e-mail when they are available and when they are due. My book clubs have been able to gather our selected books from throughout the system so we can all have copies. The library is a true lifeline to information and pleasure.
-- Raylene Seramur, Stevens Point (05/10)
Ever since my sister and I walked to the Chicago Portage Park Library as children to get "Snip, Snap, and Snur" and other favorite books, the library has been my sanctuary. I treasure books for inspiration, recreation, and illumination. For my late husband Richard, the library was a refuge as well. He would bring home stacks of books on his interest of the day: the history of the Baltic States, Russian literature, etc. We were in the Sequoya Library when the tornado hit a few years back, taking shelter in the stacks because we wanted to check our books out...not realizing that the power would go out! These days I take my grandchildren to the library and take joy once again in the marvelous collection of children's literature.
-- Mary P. Collet, Madison Sequoya Branch (05/10)
My daughter is studying in India this year and uses her library card on a regular basis to download audiobooks and search Novelist and EbscoHost. EbscoHost has been an invaluable resource in her studies, and Novelist and Overdrive have sustained her as she tries to find and listen to English language literature (she is studying the Hindi language this year). She studies with students from all over the U.S. and Europe and loves to brag about the great resources that we have through the South Central Library System.
-- Judy Collison, Oregon (05/10)
I grew up in Milwaukee and loved to read, especially biographies. My mother would take us to the downtown Milwaukee Public Library on occasion and I loved it when we went. If you have never been there, it is a huge gray stone building. It is at least three stories high and covers a whole city block. There are griffin-type figures on the building, a very unusual building that was built with grandness in mind. It has all marble floors and counters. The card catalogs with brass tabs, made out of the wood the color they always are. The 1st and second floors are library, filled with books. The third floor, which is also accessible by elevator, is hung with art like I didn't see anywhere else. I liked to sneak up there. No one else was usually there. It smelled like books and wood, a smell I loved. There were always men sitting in the front lobby, smoking and reading newspapers. I know now that they were homeless men, staying warm. It always felt comfortable there, the pull of new books to read was the best thing. I usually didn't want to leave. There were large leather overstuffed sofas and the traditional wood tables and wood chairs to sit and read in. It was the best place to go.
-- Lydia McKee, Columbus (05/10)
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